Originally Posted by kane

That is pretty accurate. I would say I only really lost money on a handful of units and after you have purchased several you start to learn what to look for and what types of units to avoid so you can really dodge the bad ones. Most of them you will at least break even on or make a little money on then if you really research the stuff and sell everything you possibly can. My experience is that if I bought 10 units, I might lose a little money or just barely break even on 1 of them. On 7 of them I would make a small amount and the last 2 would be my main money makers.

I likened it to baseball in a way. You hit a lot of singles, get a lot of walks, but then ever so many units you knock in the three run home run and do well.

When you start doing well is when you figure out how to deal with the stuff that you can't ebay, but you know has some value. Finding outlets for those items is the key. I used Craig's List, local classifieds, garage sales. There were even a few local auctions I found where you could bring anything you wanted and sell it. I almost never bought anything at those auctions (although I did once buy a box of Disney movies which are like gold and a huge record collection with about 2,000 records - vinyl. I got both for great prices and made a lot off them). I would take all my left over stuff over there in lots and sell it at those auctions. I didn't get a lot of money, but I got rid of it and made a few extra bucks.

Eventually, you start to find yourself getting knowledgeable about certain things so you can start looking for those items. For example, a lot of people I found didn't like bidding on units with appliances and if they did they would just take them to the dump straight away. I took them home, tried them out to see if they worked then I would give them a quick cleaning and put them in the local classifies for a small amount. Washers, dryers and fridges were the things I got most often and I would sell them for $50 and have them gone in a day. They were easy money and the classified ads were free.